Coming To America: BVB and LAFC begin "friendly" relations...

BVB made its first stop of the summer in the United States, starting summer vacation in Los Angeles.  With some marketing and other events, it seems the club are finally recognizing the potential that exists across the pond. Enough talk of that for now, though. The match...

BVB squared up against LAFC in a "friendly" that annoyingly involved several not so friendly challenges from the upstarts. This was frustrating to see as yes, it's fussball and it's an athletic competition, but if the purpose is to have a partnership and help them grow, it'd be helpful if they don't fly in studs up.

The fanclub had a few close connections to the match, with LAFC midfielder Calum Mallace having played in Milwaukee previously, along with his brother. He played with Marquette University and actually played against one of the members in a collegiate match. Fun fact.

It was an interesting start to this summer's German invasion and hopefully the beginning of a long partnership between BVB and the USA.

The game didn't mean much, but it was nice to see the hunger from several players, despite it being the off-season. Nuri Sahin was fantastic in his passing and nutmegging, while Jeremy Toljan had a solid performance. Philip hit the post and scored, causing the defense a lot of problems, even though he spent the previous day surfing. Maybe the most exciting showing was that of young Sergio Gomez, who teased fans with some energetic movements and sly touches. High expectations for next year....

BVB plays its next game in Chicago, where this squad will be waiting to welcome them with open arms...

WELCOME MARWIN HITZ!

Dortmund has a new face between the sticks next season, though the somewhat confusing signing of Marwin Hitz has made many fans scratch their heads, or pull their hair out! Many had hoped for a higher profile signing to supplant Burki, though it seems this signing will just give him a Swiss pal to train with rather than provide much competition. Burki remains the first choice it seems.

Hitz adds to the growing Swiss contingent at BVB. There could be more that follow as the Swissification of Dortmund seems to be in full effect.

Before passing judgment, however, Marwin deserves some recognition. He got a lot of shot practice at Augsburg, that's for sure. His heroics have kept Augsburg safe from relegation for some time. He is an experienced goalkeeper that has a lot of experience in the Bundesliga. He could slide into the squad seamlessly. He also could perhaps be the answer to the club's striker question, unbeknownst to many. All you need to do is type "Marwin Hitz Goal" to know what I'm talking about. Striker's finish it must be said. Future target man?

Jokes aside, many worry this signing is a continuation of the club's inability to attract and keep the top players in the game. Kevin Trapp and others linked were arguably much higher profile signings and some view this as settling for something less than ideal, much like they did in previous managerial searches. Hitz has little European experience and will not provide much competition for Burki who has somehow held on to his starting spot for next season it appears. Does a signing like Hitz really match the club's ambitions? It remains to be seen.

One of the less exciting transfers of this summer most probably and one that hopefully signals bigger spending in other positions, having gotten Hitz on a free transfer--saving in one area may allow the club to spend a little more in another area.

In any case, WELCOME MARWIN! May you score more goals than you concede...

A New Man At The Helm: Lucien Favre

The worst kept transfer secret in the manager merry-go-round market has finally come to be official--Lucien Favre is the next manager of Borussia Dortmund.

A manager with proven success in the Bundesliga and the ability to communicate in multiple languages with a diverse squad, Favre is the manager Dortmund missed out on last season.  He was their first choice, but a rigid contract situation delayed things some. Still, BVB now have their man. Many now ask, "Did they get it right this time?"

There are a few noteworthy and promising connections with Favre and BVB already that deserve some commentary. Favre worked with a young Marco Reus and brought the best out of him at 'Gladbach, earning him a dream move home. The Dortmunder Jung recently said that Favre was the best coach he ever had. It seems like a good pairing for the new coach and what will likely be the new captain. With the surprising signing of Marwin Hitz, a Swiss goalkeeping crew will hopefully feel more settled under their compatriot. Burki appears to be getting a last chance, so all BVB fans are praying for something better from the streaky goalkeeper next season. Fingers crossed and thumbs pressed that Favre can bring the best out of Burki the way he brought the best out of a young Marc Andre Ter Stegen at Gladbach. Another connection from his days at the false Borussia that really excites is that with Mo Dahoud, who was first given a chance under Favre and will have a big role next season. Way back in his Hertha days, he worked with BVB legend Piszczek, who began his transition from striker to wing back under the guidance of Favre. What a move that turned out to be...

With these types of connections to the squad, one has to be a little excited about next season.

Will Favre be able to work his magic in the Bundesliga once again, maybe this time, challenging for the Schale? He will have a solid squad, with some definite additions and some departures surely on the near horizon. He'll need to strengthen in defense, midfield, and up front, so he has the opportunity to hand-pick his team in a way. It will be interesting to see what transfers follow Marwin Hitz' arrival and how the new man rebuilds a BVB squad in a kind of crisis.

Season In Review: 2017-18

What seems like a longer season than normal is finally over. It is with a sigh of relief that Dortmund fans cross the finish line, having just squeaked out a Champions League spot. In the end, a tumultuous season has not ended all that badly, relatively speaking.

The coaching instability at BVB is causing a big leadership problem. Since Klopp left, we've struggled to find our next leader. After a fairly bitter split with Tuchel, Peter Bosz and Peter Stoger failed to meet the standards of a club of this prestige. Newly-appointed Lucien Favre may or may not be the answer. Regardless, there is a bit of excitement about the changes, which were necessary.

Several important players were injured and/or out of form for most of the season, which also hurt BVB this season. Reus and Phillip are two notable ones in terms of staying healthy. When Piszczu was out, we also struggled. Schmelzer, Sokratis, Gotze, Schurrle, and Castro, all experienced players and normally reliable, did not have good seasons. It seems that some of these players may not be in black and yellow next season.

Still, excuses cannot cover the fact that this season was not good enough. Rifts between club and fans are evident and the recent success and trophy haul has raised expectations and standards. This season, BVB failed to meet those expectations and standards. It must be said.

We finish behind Bayern, Sch***e, and Hoffenheim. We were nowhere near the title, finishing almost 30 points from silverware. What is most painful and more worrying is that we end up 8 points behind the blau-weiss Scheiss. Hoffenheim beat us outright, fair and square, and deservedly, in a winner-take-all head-to-head battle on the final matchday of the season. We weren't up for it, which was the case most of the season.

As a result, fewer Dortmund stars than you'd expect from a club of BVB's stature will be at the World Cup this summer. But Marco Reus...

A fairly disappointing season precedes an exciting summer of change in Dortmund...

An All-American & All-Important Early Goal...

BVB 3:0 VFB

Christian "Captain America" Pulisic got back to scoring ways against Stuttgart, again underlining how crucial a first-half goal can be for BVB. Shortly before halftime, it took a little bit of luck to get the goal, with Pulisic admitting he was trying to cross to the back post and not really being sure if/how to celebrate. "I didn't know what to do," said the young superstar. From then on, however, it seemed Borussia Dortmund knew exactly what to do and cruised to a 3-0 victory thanks to another goal from Batsman and Phillip (who was a bit lucky to be credited with the goal after his rebound looked to be going well wide of the target before a nasty deflection steered it goalward). Pulisic also helped set up the final goal with a cushioned, downward header after a quality service from Mo Dahoud.

In addition to Pulisic, some of the best performers of the day included the midfield pairing of Nuri Sahin and Mo Dahoud. The oft- and overly-criticized Sahin silenced the skeptics with a glittering performance and was arguably the man-of-the-match. He looked like his old self again, his energy and passion driving the BVB midfield and inspiring the team with what was truly a display of leadership.  This top-level showing highlights that Sahin remains an important part of the club. His slick passes caused Stuttgart problems throughout the match and he assisted Batshuayi with a well-weighted ball for the second goal. After a neat flick with the outside of the boot, not unlike the one from Piszczu that set up Pulisic for the first goal, Michy spun and made an aggressive run into the box. Sahin completed the give-and-go, glancing up briefly before delivering an inch-perfect pass to Batsman for an easy finish. And Nuri nearly did the same thing earlier with Reus, returning the ball to its sender with a delightful little chip to his pal Marco who volleyed just wide. It would have been a spectacular goal.  Not to be outdone, Dahoud was behind the final goal, floating a great ball with his left foot to the far post. It was another solid performance from Dahoud who is really beginning to find his feet at Borussia Dortmund. BVB fans are expecting big things from Big Mo next year. With a performance like this, one would expect BVB to stick with the Dahoud-Sahin pairing in the derby.

It was a massive three points for us and added to a few other results from Matchday 29 that went in Dortmund's favor, most importantly a surprise defeat for Sch***e against lowly Hamburg. The Dinosaur Club is hanging by a thread to its Bundesliga record of never being relegated.  The 3-2 win gives them a chance of staying up, though the drop looks inevitable for them.  Fortunately, Eintracht Frankfurt also dropped points, drawing 1-1 with Hoffenheim.  The other relevant result for BVB was Bayer Leverkusen's 4-1 drubbing of Leipzig. Neverkusen dominated the megamarketers throughout the game and took a huge three points, leapfrogging their opponents and jumping from 6th to 4th place in the process. That result leaves them just three points and one place behind BVB in the Bundesliga table, setting up a massively important game between the two clubs on Matchday 31.

All focus, however, is on The Revierderby this Sunday.

After a crucial three points against Stuttgart, we must take another three this weekend in what will be an electric atmosphere in the Ruhrpott. With our foe just one point above us, this edition of the Revierderby will be the most anticipated Bundesliga fixture on Matchday 30. Last time, we allowed the Blau-Weiss Scheiss to come back from certain defeat. This time, they won't be so lucky. The derby is always all-important, but even more so this time around. This is a must-win for BVB and three points takes us back into second and ahead of our archrivals from Gelsenkirchen. There is not much else that needs to be said.

DIE MACHT IM RUHRPOTT!

An Epic Pilgrimage

---1.BVB MKE---

In 2018, members of 1. BVB MKE made a pilgrimage to The Tempel and cheered on BVB in person from the famous South Stand. There is truly nothing quite like that experience. Our presence brought three wins: at home gegen Hamburg (2-0), at home gegen Atalanta (2-1), away to the fake Borussia (1-0). Since being there meant wins for BVB, we request that Borussia Dortmund officially recognize us as a fanclub and also give us tickets to games sometimes, maybe fly us back next year. Also, come meet us on your American tour this summer. We will be at all matches. Especially in CHICAGO!!! 

If you are short players, I can play on the wing...

RETURN TO MEDIA RELATIONS

---1. BVB MKE---

After a several-year boycott of all media relations, we have again returned to the electronic space here with postings. It was a futile protest against the media tapping up players and writing bogus stories about BVB, the high transfer fees, lack of loyalty, over-marketing and all the rest that's wrong with the modern game.

Please enjoy the newly updated pages and support our fanclub.

Don't forget to check out The Yellow Wall Podcast segment on us: Fans From Around The World.

Big thanks to Stefan Buczko on that! You'll here plenty more from 1. BVB MKE :)

AS THINGS STAND FOR BVB

---1. BVB MKE---

The remaining games on the fixture list for Borussia Dortmund are of the utmost importance. The problem is, all matches should be treated with this kind of urgency and intensity, unfortunately that is maybe why we are in the situation we are in, sitting a place behind FC Sch***e and in danger of losing an automatic berth for the Champions League, on top of being eliminated from Europe and the Pokal already. We have lacked the fight that typifies a Borussia Dortmund performance at most times this season, but there is still time to salvage the season and make amends for some really low points.

AS BORUSSIA DORTMUND FANS...WE MUST STAY BEHIND THE CLUB AND SUPPORT THEM THROUGH THICK AND THIN! ESPECIALLY IN THE DARKEST DAYS. LET'S HELP LIFT THEM TO SECOND AND ABOVE THAT HORRIBLE TEAM IN GELSENKIRCHEN!

SUNDAY April 8th v VfB Stuttgart 8:30 AM

This is a match at home that we absolutely must win if we want to stay in the top four. While Stuttgart is a team that has been in relatively good form this calendar year, we are in our Temple and should respond to our trashing last week with a thrashing of our own. With Christian Gentner not in the form he was a few years ago, I don't think they have the heroics to match us if we put in a high energy performance. Mario Gomez is their leading scorer and their biggest threat, along with Daniel Ginczek, a former Dortmund player who has done well for himself at Stuttgart. There are a few other familiar faces at VfB, with Dzenis Burnic and Jacob Bruun Larsen two other Borussen out on loan to Stuttgart. Unfortunately, neither have really been benefiting much from their loans as they have only 9 appearances this season between the two of them. Not likely to see them and not likely to see much else from Stuttgart in what should be an emphatic victory for Dortmund as they look to bounce back. For some players, their Borussia Dortmund future may depend on their performances...

Let's hope that we can get 3 points, pretty or not. If we can keep VfB from pushing the Mario Gomez Button, we have a good chance...

This Sunday is Orthodox Easter, so many of the fanclub will be with their families. Happy Easter to all Borussen who are celebrating. We will not be assembling at the pub, or if you do, coordinate it yaself. I'll be viewing from The Region on my phone maybe, others at home, etc. Good luck. Cross your fingers and press your thumbs. Whatever it is you need to do...